Lawn-mower.



No. 821,987. PATBNTED MAY 29, 1906.

W. H. OOLDWELL. LAWN MOWER.

APYLIGATION TILED DEO.11,1905.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

ms. WASNMOTON. n. c.

munew. a. nmkm pa. PNDTGJJYMOGRAPN No. 821,987. PATENTED MAY 29, 1906.

W. H. GOLDWELL. LAWN MOWER.

APPLICATION TILED 1730.11, 1905.

3 SHBETS-SHBET 2 @550 rnqyi,

ANDREW. a. (mum co- Pmvo-LrrmRAPMERs. wlsmncwn. I)v c.

W. H. GOLDWELL.

LAWN MOWER.

APPLICATION FILED DEO.11,1905.

PATENTED MAY 29, 1906.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3 f INVENTOR WITNES" WILLIAM H. COLDWELL, NEWBURGH, YORK.

LAWN-MOWER.

Specification of Letters Iatent.

Patented May 29, 1906.

Application filed December 11, 1905. Serial No. 291,328.

To (DZ/Z1 whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. OoLDwELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Newburgh, in the county of Orange and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Lawn- Mowers; and I do hereby declare the follow ing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and usethe same.

My invention is an improvement in lawnmowers; and it consists in the novel features hereinafter described, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate one form in which I have contemplated embodying my invention, and said invention is clearly and fully disclosed in the following description and claims.

Referring to the said drawings, Figure 1 represents a side elevation of a lawn-mower embodying my invention, the handle for propelling the machine being removed. Fig. 2 represents one of the side frames of the mower, the driving-wheel and gear-casing being removed to show the train of gearing for driving the rotary cutter or wiper. Fig. 3 represents a horizontal section of the machine, the middle portion being broken away to allow the side portions to be shown in a larger scale. Fig. 4 is a detail view of a washer which is secured to the main driving shaft or axle and the hub of the main driv inggear. Fig. 5 is an elevation of the gearcas ing. Fig. 6 is a sectional view of same on line 5 5, Fig. 4. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of one of the main driving-gears, showing its connection with the main shaft. Fig. 8 is a similar view of one of the wiper-pinions, showing its connection with wiper-shaft. Fig. 9 is a perspective view showing means for retaining the drive-wheel on the shaft.

In the drawings, A A represent the two side frames of the machine, which are preferably formed of cast-iron, with provisions as hereinafter desoribed'for receiving the various parts of the mechanism. At the forward and upper extremity of each of said side frames a cored boss on is formed, and the two side frames are conneotedat this point by a tie-rod T, having reduced portions t extending through said cored bosses and provided outside of said bosses with threaded portions engaging nuts t, which clamp said bosses between said nuts and shoulders formed by the reduced portion t, as will readily be seen in Fig. 3. Said side frames are also connected rigidly by the stationary knife-bar B, which carries thestationary knife I), said knife-bar being located adjacent to the rear end of the side frame, and thus forming therewith and with the tie-rod T a very rigid frame construction.

S represents the main driving shaft or axle of the machine, which extends through aper tures a in the side frames of greater diameter than said shaft, said side frames being provided on their inner faces with means for receiving members of cone or ball bearings. In this instance I have shown these side frames provided with an inwardly-extending circular flange of, concentric with the aperture a, before referred to, for receiving a steel cup 8, having a ball-race formed therein, as shown. Upon the shaft S are mounted two cones s 8 each provided with a ball-race, between which and the ball-race of one of the cups 8 a suitable series of balls 8 is inserted, as clearly shown in Fig. 3. The cones sand s are fit ted upon the shaft S so as to permit the longitudinal movement of the shaft through said cones and the adjustment of said cones with respect to the balls and cups of the two ball-bearings thus provided is effected by means of a, sleeve S, having an internal diametergreater than the shaft S and surrounding the shaft without coming in contact therewith. This sleeve S is rigidly attached to one of the cones before described and is adjustably connected to the other cone for the purpose of securing the desired adjustment of the two ball-bearings simultaneously. In

the present instance I have shown the sleeve S fitted into an annular recess in the cone 8 and rigidly secured therein by means of a pin 8 The opposite end of the sleeve S is threaded exteriorly and is screwed into a threaded annular recess in the other cone 8, as shown in the drawings, Fig. 3, so that by holding the cone 8 stationary and rotating the sleeve S and the other cone with respect thereto the distance between the two cones will be varied and they will be pressed farther into or withdrawn from the cups 8, according to the direction in which the sleeve is turned, and by this means the accurate and simultaneous adjustment of the two ball-bearings may be secured. After this adjustment has been secured the parts may be locked in this position by means of a set-screw 8, provided in the cone 8, engaging erture therein and engaging the sleeve S.

IIO

a radial threaded ap-= In order to cause the'cones and the sleeve S to rotate with the shaft S while permitting thelongitudinal movement of the shaft, I provide the shaft S with a short keyway 8 within the cone 8 and provide the cone 8 with a key in the form of a screw 8 which passes through the cone and engages the keyway s. It will thus be seen that the end thrust of the shaft S will have no effect upon the bearings and that the shaft may be permitted at all times an endwise movement within the bearing in either direction.

At each end of the shaft and outside of the side frames is located a driving gear-wheel G, rigidly secured to the shaft. In the present instance I have shown each of these gearwheels provided with a long hub g, which fits over the shaft and is also turned on the exterior. Each of the hubs g is provided at its inner end with two recesses g g, arranged op osite to each other, and the shaft S is provi ed adjacent to each end with a pin 8 extending through the shaft and projecting on each side thereof. These pins are so located that when the gear-wheels G are slipped onto the ends of the shaft S the recesses g in the hubswill embrace the projecting I ortions of the pins and securely connect t ese gearwheels G with the shaft, so that they will rotate therewith.

W W represent the ground-wheels or driving-wheels of the lawn-mower, which are preferably formed with a central plate w of circular form, connected by suitable spokes with the rim of the wheel and provided with a central aperture and hub to, which fits over the exterior of the hub g of the gear-wheel G. The side frames A A are each provided with an external flange a nearly annular in shape, as shown in Fig. 2, which, together with a recessed portion of the side frame, forms a casing for the gear-wheel, and the central side portion w of the driving-wheels forms practically a cover for said casing, thus protecting the interior mechanism. The groundwheels or driving-wheels W are connected to the driving gear-wheels G G through the intervention of pawl-and-ratchet mechanism. In this instance the interior face of the rim of each gear-wheel is provided with ratchetteeth 9 (see Fig. 2,) and a series of pawls w are provided on the inner face of the central portion of the drive or ground wheels W to engage said teeth. It will thus be seen that when the mower is pushed forwardly in a direction to cause it to cut grass the pawls to take into the ratchet-teeth g in a well-known way and the drive-wheels W and driving gear-wheels G move together. When, however, the machine is drawn backward or when one of the drive-wheels W rotates more slowly than the other, as in making a turn, the hub of the driving-wheel is permitted to turn rearwardly on the hub of the gear-wheel.

D represents a bearing-stud provided on same? each of the side frames of the machine, upon which the intermediate pinions E E are mounted. This stud is preferably formed separately from the side frame and provided with a longitudinal central aperture to receive a bolt d, which extends through the side frame and through the stud and is provided on its outer end with a nut d, The intermediate pinions E E are of different diameters for the purpose of giving the required speed to the wiper and are preferably formed in one piece and slipped over the studs D, as shown, the smaller pinion meshing with the driving gear-wheel G.

0 represents the shaft of the rotary cutter or wiper C, said shaft being provided with the cones 0, one of which is secured to the shaft by means of a setscrew c and the other cone being adjustable on said shaft. The rotary cutter or wiper comprises two spiders c pinned to the shaft and carrying the blades of the cutter, and one of said spiders is provided with means for adjusting the other cone 0, consisting of a double screw 0 having portions of different diameter provided with right and left threads, one of said threads engaging the threaded aperture in the spider and the other engaging a threaded aperture in the cone, as shown in United States Letters Patent N 0. 669,436, March 5, 1901, granted to me and Harry T. Ooldwell as joint inventors. Each of the side frames is provided adjacent to the wiper-shaft C with an annular flange a which receives a steel cup 0, provided with/a ball-race, and balls 0 are interposed between the said on and the cones c c. The adjustable cone 0 is also provided with a set-screw c for looking it positively in its adjusted position.

The wiper-shaft C is provided at each end with a pin 0 extending through the same, and projecting on each side and at each end of the shaft a pinion c is provided, having an aperture to fit the shaft and a recess at each side of said aperture, as shown at c", to fit over the ends of the pin 0 so that the shaft 0 and said pinions will rotate together, and said pinions 0 being in mesh with the larger pinion E of the intermediate pinions the motion of the wheels W will thus be transmitted to the wiper-shaft and wiper.

The driving-wheels W and gear-wheels G are held in position upon the shaft S by means of washers H, one of which is shown in detail in Fig. 4. Each of these washers is provided with a central aperture 7t and on its inner face with a pair of lugs h on opposite sides of the center and a little distance in from the periphery. These washers are applied to the outer ends of the hubs g of the gear-wheels G, the lugs h fitting into recesses in the ends of the hubs, and screws k are passed through the central apertures of the washers and screwed into a central threaded opening in the shaft S. The washers are larger than the hub in diameter, and the projecting portions serve to retain the driving-wheels W upon the hubs of the gearwheels, while the washers themselves are pre-' vented from rotating with respect to the shaft S, gear-wheels G, and screws h so that there is no tendency for the washers to work loose.

F F represent a pair of small gear cases or shields, each of which is secured to one of the studs D and is constructed to incase portions of the intermediate pinions and also the wiper-pinions 0 which are located in a recess formed in the side frames. Each of these gear-cases is preferably provided with an aperture f, which fits over the screw or bolt (1 beneath the nut d of the device for securing the stud D in position, and each of said gearcases has a flat portion which extends over the adjacent wiper-pinion and is preferably provided with a boss f on the inner side to engage the end of the pinion and prevent it from coming off the shaft. Each of said gearcases is also provided with screw-holesf f f by means of which it may be further secured to the side frame A.

R represents the rear supporting-roller of the machine, which is provided with slotted hangers r, secured to the frame by bolts r, so as to be capable of vertical adjustment in the usual manner.

In the operation wise movement which is permitted to the main driving-shaft S, as before stated, will permit the driving-gears G to move slightly endwise, so as to prevent their jamming or straining, and the effect of this construction is to cause the gearing to run very smoothly and with very slight exertion of power in driving the rotary cutter.

In the operation of lawn-mowers where power is applied to the wiper-shaft from a driving-gear through intermediate gears it is found that when the bearings wear so as to become slightly loose, thus permitting lateral play of the shaft, there is a tendency of gears to force themselves into closer mesh and bind, making the machine run very hard. It is to be noted that in my improved machine provision is made for the accurate adjustment of the bearings for the main driveshaft and that the effect of adjusting these bearings, which are of the cone-ball variety, is to bring the driving-shaft to a perfect cen ter of rotation, so that the gear-wheels G, if they had any tendency to bind in their mesh with the intermediate pinions E, would upon adjustment of the bearings be centered and drawn back from said pinions into the proper relation therewith. It will also be seen that the wiper-shaft of the machine is provided with adjustable bearings, the adjustment of which tends to center its shaft and prevent binding between the pinions c and E. In case the studs of the intermediate gears beof this machine the end-- the come worn they may be removed from the machine and new studs inserted, so that the proper relation of the driving gears and pinions of the trains can be maintained at all times. frames A, which are formed of cast-iron or other suitable metal, d0.not contain themselves any working parts or bearings which are subjected to wear and that all of the wearing parts carried by said side frames to wit, the bearing-cups and the studs for the intermediate pinionscan be removed and replaced when they become worn. It therefore results that at any time when this lawnmower constructed in accordance with my in vention becomes sufficiently worn to make it necessary or desirable it can be supplied with new wearing parts at slight expense, and when so supplied it will be in exactly as good condition as when it was new.

The specific form of the bearings for the drive-shaft and adjusting means therefor shown herein is not claimed specifically herein, as it forms the subject-matter of another application filed by me, January 5, 1906, and given Serial No. 294,759.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a lawn-mower, the combination with the side frames of a driving-shaft, ball-bearings for said shaft permitting the longitudinal movement of the shaft therethrough at all times, ground-wheels secured to said drivingshaft, a rotary cutter mounted in'the side frames, and connections between the drivingshaft and the rotary cutter, substantially as described.

2. In a lawn-mower, the combination with the side frames provided with bearing members, of a driving-shaft extending loosely through said bearing members, and provided with bearing members mounted thereon to rotate therewith but permitting the longitudinal movement of the shaft therethrough at all times, a connection exterior to the shaft connecting the bearing members carried thereby, means for adjusting one of the said shaft-engaging bearingmembers with respect to said connection for simultaneously adjusting both of theshaft-bearings, ground-wheels secured to said shaft, a rotary cutter mounted in the side frames and connections between said driving-shaft and said rotary cutter, substantially as described.

3. In a lawn-mower, the combination with the side frames of bearing-cups supported thereby, a driving-shaft extending loosely through said bearing-cups and provided with bearing-cones connected to said shaft for rotation therewith, by devices permitting the longitudinal movement of the shaft therethrough, a connection exterior to said shaft extending from one cone to the other, said cones and connection being provided with means for adjusting said cones toward and It is also to be noted that the sideits said non-rotatable bearing-members, bear ing-members securedtorotate with said shaft, but permitting the endwise movement of the shaft therethrough, and cooperating with saidnon-rotatable bearingmembers, a rotarycutter provided with rotary bearingmembers cooperating withits said non-rotatable bearing members, adriving-pinion connected with.-

said rotary cutter, a driving gear-wheel operativelyconnected withsaid driving-shaft, an intermediate pinion connecting said driving gear and pinion, and a stud. supportingsaid: intermediate pinion-'and'detachably connected to one- 0f saidside frames, substantially as described.

5. Inalawn-rnower, the combination with the side frames of a driving-shaft extending therethrough cup-shaped bearing members for saidshaft carried by said side frames, conical' bearing members carried by said shaftv and connected torotate therewith but -permitting; the'longitudinal movement of the shaft therethrough, a driving gear-wheel op-- eratively connected with said shaft, devicesexterior to said shaft connecting said conical bearing members, for adjusting them with'respectto. their cooperating cupeshaped bearingmembers, a rotary-cutter carried by said side frames, and arranged with'its axis parallel to said driving-shaft, bearings comprising cup andcone membersfor said-rotary cutter, a.dr1v1ngp1n1on forsald rotary cutter, an 1ntermediate. p nion arranged between saidi driving gear and :said pinion and provided with'a stationary axis, and'means for adjust ing the bearings of: saidrotary cutter, sub-' stantially as described 6. In=a lawn-mower, the combination with the sideframes, of a;drivingshaft, bearings: therefor comprising non-rotatable cup shapedmembers, secured to said-side frames, and

cone-shaped members carried by said shaft but permitting it to move longitudinally;

therethrough, a driving gear-wheel mounted on said shaft andsecured to rotate therewith, said gear-wheel being provided with an elongated hub, having an exterior abearing-surface, a ground-wheel mounted rotatably upon the exterior ofsaid gear-wheel hub, a pawl-anderatchet connection between said ground-wheel and-said gear-wheel, a rotary cutter carriedin the side frames, and connections between said-gear-wheel and said rotary cutter, substantially as described.

7. In a lawn-mower, the combination with,

the main driving-shaft, of a driving gearwheel mounted thereon andsecured to rotate therewith, said gear-wheel being provided with an elongated hub, having an exterior bearing-surface, a ground-wheel provided with a hub engaging theexterior of the gearwheel hub, a pawl-and-ratchet connectionibetween said ground-wheel and gear-wheel, a retaining device secured to said gear-wheel cutter, substantially as described.

8'. In a lawn-mower, the combinati'onswiththemain driving-shaft, of a driving gear-s wheel mountedthereonand secured to rotate therewith, said gear-wheel being provided-- with an elongated hub, having. an exterior bearing-surface, a ground-wheel provided with a hub, engaging the exterior of the gear. wheel hub, a pawl-and-ratchet connection. between said ground-wheeland-gear-wheel, aretaining-washer engaging the endof said,

gear-wheel hub, said parts being provided with interlocklng portions, a screweconnects ing said washer to said shaft, a-rotary-cutter and connections between therotary-cutt'er and said gear wheel, substantially? asdescribed;

9. In a lawn-mower, the combination with the driving-shaft provided adj acentto its end. with projecting portions extending laterally therefrom, a driving ge ar-wheel having a hub provided with anexterior'bearingLpore tion, and with" recessed portions to engage said projectingportions on said shaft-,when: the hub is slipped over said shaft, a: ground-- wheel having ahub mounted onrthe exterior of the gear-wheel hub, awpawl-and-ratchet connectlon betweensaid 1ground=wheel and gear-wheel, a retaining ,device secured to the hub of said gear-wheel 1fOIS6GU.I'IIlgi',l/he

groundwheel, the rotary cutter and connections between said drivinggear-wheeland; said rotary cutter,: substantially as described.

10. In a lawn-mower, the combination" with theside framesprovided with'bearinge;

cups on their inner sides, ofarnain drivingshaft extending through'said-side-framesand V hub and extending over the endofsaid ground-wheel hub, a rotary cutter and 0011+- nections between said gear-wheel and rotary IOC provided with bearing-cones cooperating I with said bearing-cups, a sleevesurrounding said shaft, extending fromone ofsaidcones to the other, and adjustably connected to 0116f of said cones, a: connection between said cones and said shaft causingthem-to rotate together but permittingthe endwise movement of the shaft therethrough, adrivinggear secured to said shaft at each'end and provided with elongated hubs havingeexte rior bearing portions, ground-wheels mounted upon the hubsof said gear-Wheels, ratchetand-pawl connections between said groundwheels and gear-wheels, a rotary cutter.

mounted in said side frames and provided with pinions, and gearing connecting said gear-wheels andsaid pinions, substantially as described.

11. In a lawn-mower, the combination with the side frames, provided with bearingcups on their inner sides, of a main drivingshaft extending through said side frames and provided with bearingcones cooperating with said bearing-cups, a sleeve surrounding said shaft, extending from one of said cones to the other, and adjustably connected to i one of said cones, a connection between said cones and said shaft causing them to rotate together but permitting the endwise movement of the shaft therethrough, a drivinggear secured to said shaft at each end and provided with elongated hubs having exterior bearing portions, ground-wheels mounted upon the hubs of said gear-wheels, ratchetand-pawl connections between said groundwheels and gear-Wheels, 'a rotary cutter mounted in said side frames and provided with pinions each having a recessed portion engaging projecting portions on the shaft of the rotary cutter, intermediate pinions connecting said cutter-pinions and said drivinggears, studs detachably secured to said frames and carrying said intermediate pinions, said side frames having a recessed portion inclosing said driving gear-wheels intermediate pimons and cutterpinions, said ground-wheels having solid central portions forming closures for said recessed portions of the side frames, and detachable gear-casings for covering said intermediate pinions and cutter-pinions, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM H. COLDWELL.

Witnesses:

A. W. MAPEs, CHAS. K. GOLDEN. 

